Zonta Club of Central Tuguegarao donates books to students in need after massive flood

After helping girls with online schooling through past projects, the Zonta Club of Central Tuguegarao, Philippines, realized another area of concern — the need for books. 

Through the club’s education committee, members organized a book donation in February 2021 as an immediate response to a plea from the Taguing Integrated School (TIS) of Baggao, Cagayan. The school requested books since Taguing was one of the many villages in the province that went underwater during a massive flooding in 2020.

Aside from a call for book donations, the club also partnered with the local government of Tuguegarao, non-government organizations and other like-minded individuals. This resulted in overwhelming support from all sectors of the community. Many books have been donated and are being sorted for the beneficiaries. 

With the plethora of books donated, the club decided that this will be a continuing project, catering to several schools in urgent need of books. This pursuit comes from the strong belief that education plays a very significant role in Zonta’s quest for gender equality. 

District 17, Area 4 Director Ligaya Miguel said, “Expanding access to education can never go wrong. Book reading and learning from books are lifelong learning skills that we must develop in the young.”